Biden and domestic policy adviser Susan Rice met virtually with Black essential workers on Tuesday, including health care workers, child care workers and others from across the country to thank them for their work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

"You are heroes and your service, we honor. A disproportionate number of Black Americans serve as front-line workers and as first responders, putting yourselves at greater risk of contracting COVID-19," Rice said. "And one in four deaths from COVID-19 have been those of Black Americans, and so during this Black history month, we wanted to say thank you, to lift up your voices, and your service and your needs."

Biden listened to the participants and asked questions. He also touted his administration's COVID-19 relief bill, talking about how it would help industries and individuals. Biden said his administration is focusing on the needs "particularly of the most left behind community, the African American community."

Biden’s nominee for secretary of the interior, Rep. Deb Haaland, D-Ariz., appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for the first round of questioning in her confirmation hearing Tuesday.

Haaland introduced herself in the native language of the Laguna Pueblo and thanked her family, her partner and her ancestors. She also acknowledged that the hearing was taking place on the native lands of the Anacostia, Piscataway and Nakochtank tribes.

She said her priorities would be valuing career employees at the Department of the Interior and promoting clean energy. For Native American communities, she said she would focus on bringing broadband access to them and addressing the high number of missing and murdered Native American women. She also talked about her support for a modern Civilian Conservation Corps as a way of offsetting potential job loss from a transition to cleaner energy.

“But we must also recognize that the energy industry is innovating, and our climate challenge must be addressed," she said in her opening statement. "Together we can work to position our nation and all of its people for success in the future, and I am committed to working cooperatively with all stakeholders, and all of Congress, to strike the right balance going forward.”

Throughout the hearing, when questioned about her past statements and positions, Haaland said that if confirmed she would be advancing Biden’s interests. She dodged a question about her stance on fracking, saying the president does not support a fracking ban.

In his opening statement, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said he was troubled by Haaland’s “radical” views, a sentiment also expressed by other Republicans on the committee. He said he would oppose Haaland’s nomination. During his questioning, Barrasso pressed Haaland on an October tweet that said Republicans don’t believe in science.

The committee will be back Wednesday at 10 a.m. for the second round of questioning.

-ABC News' Adia Robinson

The first hearing for Biden's pick to head the Department of Health and Human services, Xavier Becerra, ended Tuesday afternoon with little drama or contentious back-and-forths with Republicans despite their clear opposition to him on policy issues like abortion and health care.

Democratic senators highlighted Becerra's potential to make history as the first Latino to lead the department and his experience leading massive departments and in policy as a congressman for 24 years.

Only a handful of Republicans told Becerra to his face that they didn’t think he had the public health experience for the job, one of the key criticisms ahead of the hearing.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sharply criticized him to reporters as the hearing was ongoing. But McConnell’s remarks were a reminder: Being cordial at a hearing doesn’t mean Republicans are going to vote for Becerra.

Becerra will head to the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday at 2 p.m, which will advance a vote on his confirmation to the Senate floor.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

The White House continues to back Neera Tanden, Biden's pick to oversee the Office of Management and Budget, despite criticism from Republicans about her tweets that have been critical of conservatives.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked during a press briefing Tuesday if there were other people in consideration for the position, and she said there is only "one candidate" and that is Tanden.

"She has had 44 meetings now with senators of both parties, she's spoken with 15 senators from both parties since Friday," Psaki said. "Some of those were repeats of people she had spoken with previously but, as I noted yesterday, she's committed to rolling up her sleeves, having those conversations, answering questions as they come up, reiterating her commitment to working with people across the aisle."

After an expanded detention facility for child migrants reopened in Carrizo Springs, Texas, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., tweeted Tuesday, “This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay - no matter the administration or party.”

In a press briefing Wednesday, Psaki attempted to cast the Biden administration’s efforts to manage immigration as a major improvement over President Donald Trump’s policies but didn’t fully address Ocasio-Cortez's criticism that such facilities shouldn’t exist at all.

Psaki said the administration had three options when it comes to child migrants: to send them back to their countries (which she said can be dangerous), to transfer them to a facility managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, or to put them in the care of families or sponsors "without any vetting." She said the administration has chosen the middle option.

“What we are doing is working as quickly as possible to process these kids into these HHS facilities, which have been revamped, which have medical and educational services available, so that we can then transfer them to families. That's what our approach is,” Psaki said.

Psaki would not commit to a request to allow media in to prove that children are treated humanely, citing privacy and security concerns. Psaki tried to explain the administration’s options in dealing with minors at the border and why the detention facilities have become a primary strategy.

“This is a difficult situation. It's a difficult choice. That's the choice we've made,” she said.

Psaki also attempted to defend delays in transferring children from facilities run by Customs and Border Protection, which often lack amenities, to Health and Human Service facilities that are intended for longer-term care. By law, children are supposed to spend no more than 72 hours in Customs and Border Protection facilities after initial apprehension.

“There were some delays last week because of weather, and because some of these facilities to safely move these kids to, did not have power and were not in a place where they could -- they had the capacity to take in these kids and do it safely. That is not our objective. That is not our goal," Psaki said. "So some, unfortunately, did stay four days, five days, or longer, but the objective is to move them as quickly as possible to the HHS sponsored facilities.”

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky